What are Energy Bodies?
The Perspective of Kabbalah
Will Parfitt
Books by Will Parfitt
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The Western Mystery Tradition describes several levels of energy bodies
thus:
etheric body; is closely associated with it the 'physical body' (the etheric
is basically the 'energy field' of the physical form) (Malkuth)
astral body: is closely associated with the emotional realm; this doesn't
mean emotions are 'astral' but that just as the physical life creates an
etheric double or energy field, so similarly the emotional life creates
an astral double or energy field (Yesod)
- sometimes the astral body is split into two levels, described as the 'lower
astral' and the 'upper astral' ... what we are calling the 'astral' is then
equivalent to the 'lower astral' and the 'higher astral' has more association
with the 'mental body' which I'll describe next (it is not the same, but
closely linked)
mental body (better termed the 'causal' body): is closely associated with
what Jungians call the 'rational functions' i.e. thoughts and feelings (the
plane of Netzach and Hod)
spiritual body: is an energy field corresponding to (or 'created by') the
deeper soul connections or finer energy within us (loosely equivalent to
the middle triangle)
People sometimes (often?) make up different versions of these, but if you
want to work real magic, if you want to work within the Western tradition,
then these attributes are really pretty well non-negotiable.
Very roughly speaking, if you perceive these energy bodies, then the etheric
is seen as very close to the physical (maybe like just a centimetre away);
the astral then extends outwards around that (in a resting healthy body
to a distance of about an arms length); the mental body then extends beyond
that (and has a diffuse outer edge that blends into its surroundings which
are, after all, created in form through the operation of this body); the
spiritual body doesn't exist in this time/space continuum. (... and these
distances vary, for instance: the etheric body can sink to the level of
the feet and be merely a remnant of its former glory; the astral body which
expands and contracts continually, depending upon the energy level of the
person, their physical and emotional health etc; the mental body sometimes
becomes so enmeshed in the outside world it is indistinguishable from its
surroundings; sometimes even the spiritual body recedes and the person might
be then considered 'soul dead')
'Inside the body, outside the body' are artificial descriptions especially
when referring to energy. If you take a physical body and consider just
its physicality, without any life force (probably dead, though not necessarily)
then it is useful to call this physical 'lump of substance' the corpse;
then if you consider the physical body when it is animated, when it is 'wet
with living functions', then it is useful to term it the soma.
For more details of the components within a physical body look up the body
systems charts in my Kabbalah books.
There are so many complex ways to describe the correspondence of frequency
to the spheres, but it can be useful to consider the frequency in terms
of the musical scale (and from this you can then easily work out the correspondences)
Malkuth/ base chakra: C
Yesod/ sexual chakra: C sharp
Hod-Netzach/ belly chakra: D/D sharp
Tiphareth/ heart chakra: E (collective); F (personal)
Daath/ throat chakra: F sharp
[link between: G/G sharp]
Binah-Chockmah/ midhead chakra: A/ A sharp
Kether/ crown chakra: B
Some people like to make an equivalence here to doh, ray, me, so, far, teh,
do etc., but this is a mental construct - the reality is far more complex
- just as the colours of a rainbow do not really equate to the chakras (you
know, red for base chakra up to violet for crown chakra) ... in fact the
colours for the spheres as described in my books is not arbitrary but it
based upon the true esoteric tradition as based on the work of psychics
who really see colours in this way (and don't just create fantasy mental
attributes.)
With various Kabbalah 'centers' and the increasing pop world popularity
of Kabbalah, there are many people (often claiming to work within a Jewish
tradition) who make up more or less plausible but fantastic stories around
their attributions etc., which are not based on the true traditions. There
are also many so-called psychics who are not really psychic at all but completely
wrapped up in astral fantasies (for instance, any so called psychic who
tells you your chakras are coloured as in a rainbow is making it up because
if they really saw the energy they would know that is not true!)
The only place you can find out for yourself is in inner silence which is
not the same as inner stillness nor is it just a case of sitting quietly,
it is in fact indescribable in words because it is truly beyond words, but
it is an awesome place that paradoxically is not silent at all!
Focus your efforts on achieving inner silence, then you will know, and understand
(consider that carefully from a Kabbalistic perspective)
Will Parfitt is a UKCP registered psychotherapist and an experienced
and innovative group leader. Trained in Psychosynthesis, he has more than
forty years experience of working with psychospiritual development, and
travels internationally to run courses on a variety of subjects including
kabbalah and psychosynthesis. Will is author of several books
including 'The Complete Guide to Kabbalah', 'The Something and Nothing of Death', 'Kabbalah:The Tree of Life' and 'Psychosynthesis: the Elements and Beyond.